WOLF TAMER (Claiming My Pack Series Book 1) Page 4

  It was always Ian during the day, and at night, Wolfie would come and visit me. It wasn't all the time, but I loved whenever he showed up. I always slept the best when he snuggled with me in bed. His fur was so soft, and my imaginary friend really liked him.

  "We should think of a name for your friend, Harper."

  "Why? She's me...well um...she reminds me of Wolfie, but she's all white with nice blue eyes," I explained.

  "Hmm. You can't tell anyone else that," Ian said with a serious tone that made me stop midway from getting my unicorn pajama top.

  "Why? Is it bad?" I asked. "Will they hunt my friend?"

  "No," Ian replied but moved to the door. He poked his head into the hall, looking both ways before he moved back in and closed the door. Muffin hopped onto the bed next to my unicorn pajama bottoms and curled up in a ball.

  Ian came back over and whispered, "Dolly and Sam said I'm not supposed to tell you."

  He fidgeted in place, looking uncomfortable and his cheeks turned red. "But...I like you, Harper. I want you to know, but you can't tell them. No matter what."

  "Can't tell Dolly and Sam? Is it bad?"

  "No. It's not bad, but I think I know why Hunters were after you. They did the same thing to me. That's why I live with Dolly and Sam here."

  My imaginary friend was interested and so was I. "Why would Hunters be after you?"

  Ian slipped his hand into mine and we walked around my bed. Sitting down crossed legged with our backs against the bottom bed frame we stared at the window, the curtains drawn out to give us a good glimpse of the half moon.

  "You promise you won't tell? I think I'll get in trouble if Dolly and Sam find out."

  "Trouble, as in you can't live here anymore?"

  "Maybe." Ian lowered his head. "I...was like you. My family...they're not here anymore."

  I stared at him in disbelief. "Not here...did..." I trailed off and Ian nodded his head slowly.

  "It was two years ago. When I was five too. They tried to get me a new family, but they wanted a normal child."

  "That's what they said to me too! Are we not normal?" I whispered, feeling depressed about it. If we’re not normal...what are we?

  "Different."

  Ian reached out and placed his hand on my left cheek. "We're just different, Harper. Nothing bad about being different," he whispered, and those silver eyes were so pretty in the moonlight that shone down on us from the window.

  "Okay. Different is good."

  He nodded. "See? Your imaginary friend is inside your mind, right?"

  "Yes. She helps me make good choices and protects me."

  "Can you change yet?"

  "Change?" I looked at my clothes. "Change clothes?"

  "No. Change into a wolf."

  "No..." I pouted my lips. "We can change into a wolf?" I asked.

  Ian straightened his back to peek above the bed at the door, making sure it was still closed.

  He lowered back and moved slightly to face me. "We're wolf shifters, Harper. Well...I am. I think you are too. Dolly and Sam don't know for sure because you haven't shifted yet. We don't know your family background either."

  "Wolf shifter. I may be a wolf?"

  "Maybe." Ian looked away and he reached out to hold my hand, his fingers randomly playing with mine. "Um...and...um."

  "Wolfie."

  "Ian?"

  He lifted his head, those silver eyes locking onto mine.

  "Are you Wolfie?"

  Silence was what greeted me, and I could see the fear in his eyes before he looked away. "If I was...would you hate me?"

  His voice was so low, and my imaginary friend and I felt so grateful. He's Wolfie. He saved me. He...saved me and my imaginary friend.

  I reached out to hug him tightly, my arms wrapping around the back of his neck.

  "Harper?"

  No words could say how happy I was for being saved. I didn't want to die. I was scared of dying. It was lonely, dark, and cold, but Ian saved me, and Wolfie would keep me warm at night when the nightmares tried to scare me.

  "Thank you, Ian." I sniffed as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Thank you, Wolfie."

  He hugged me back and whispered, "I said I'd protect you. I'll always protect you, Harper."

  I nodded and leaned back with a smile. "And be my friend!"

  "Yes," Ian replied.

  I sat back down, and Ian got up to get some tissue to help me wipe the tears from my cheeks. When we were both settled again, he continued.

  "Until we find out why you can't shift yet, you need a name for your imaginary friend."

  "Do we have to? She doesn't know what to choose." I felt my imaginary friend’s hesitation. "She's also a wolf, like Wolfie?"

  "Yes, but Sam and Dolly can't find out that you know she's a wolf. I overheard them talking with that lady who wears white all the time."

  "The psy...psych...the mental lady."

  "Yes. She thinks it's a phase. She said the same thing about Wolfie."

  "When did you shift?" I asked.

  "In February. During the winter storm. I was exploring and got caught in the blizzard. Wolfie saved me and brought me back home. Sam said everyone is different. You can shift when you’re a baby or shift when you’re an adult. It's all different."

  "So...my wolf...or imaginary friend...or hmmm." I was trying to think of a name that would work with my imaginary friend. If she was a wolf and I wasn't allowed to call her a wolf, I'd have to think of something pretty so Ian wouldn't get in trouble.

  "Reika?" Ian suggested.

  "What does that mean?" I asked. My Imaginary friend, or wolf, seemed happy with the name.

  "I read it in a book. It's a girl who has the power of the wolf and is the um...foundation of the home. Sam explained it to me. I think it suits your wolf. She's powerful and always protects you and led you home!"

  "Home..." I whispered and looked down at my hands.

  Ian reached for my hands, holding both of them in his.

  "Meow." Muffin walked to us and placed herself on top of our hands which made the both of us giggle.

  Ian smiled and said softly, "This is your home now, Harper. You and Reika. I'll help you and show you around."

  "Are there more of us?" I asked.

  "Yes, but I'm not allowed to tell you who they are. It's complicated," Ian explained.

  "That's okay. As long as you are with me, I don't care. I'm happy!" I smiled widely.

  "Meow?" Muffin looked between the two of us, rolling onto her back and still resting on our joined hands.

  "You too, Muffin." I giggled.

  "Hmm. When's your birthday, Harper?" Ian asked.

  "Oh," I replied. Muffin moved from our hands to walk onto my crossed legs. "Um. It passed."

  "Huh? Passed as in it was months ago?"

  "No. September 5th."

  "One week ago?! Wait, was that the day..." Ian didn't finish because I nodded.

  "The man said if I was good he'd get me a cake. I didn't really want one. I just...wanted to see my family again."

  Ian frowned and uncrossed his legs. He shuffled forward on his knees and wrapped his arms around me. "Dolly said she's going to get a nice area here for your family. They don't have anywhere to put them...you know. The ashes."

  I nodded and closed my eyes. "I still miss them." Leaning back, I blinked away my tears. "Will I always miss them? I don't want to forget them...but I don't want to miss them all the time either."

  "It will get better. Time. That's what Dolly tells me." Ian stroked my head softly.

  "Meow."

  We looked down to see Muffin reach up for me to hold her. I grinned. "Muffin wants a hug too."

  "Seems like it," Ian replied. I lifted Muffin up and hugged her, and Ian gave me another hug. "I'll ask Dolly to make you a cake!"

  "You don't have to. It passed." I felt bad that he wanted to go to that much trouble for me.

  Ian shook his head and stood up, putting his hands on his hips. "Harper gets a nice cake! No excuses!"

  I giggled. "When is your birthday, Ian?"

  "May 5th."

  "Can we celebrate together?"

  "But it was months ago," Ian pointed out.

  "Ian gets a cake too!" I declared proudly. We both laughed.

  "Let's share a cake! Dolly makes tasty cakes."

  "Okay! We should change before they come back!" I suggested.

  "RACE YOU!" Ian ran to the other side where his pajamas were.

  "HEY! That's cheating. I have Muffin!" I lifted Muffin in the air.

  "Meow?"

  I worked to get up and carried Muffin with me to where Ian stood. He had already pulled his shirt off and was trying to put on his pajama top. "Why are long sleeves so hard to put on?"

  "They're not hard." I laughed, putting Muffin down. I pulled off my shirt and got my pajama top that was also long sleeved. Ian stared at me for about five seconds before he turned around.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Oh...um. Carter said I should always turn around when a lady is changing."

  "Why?"

  "It's...um...privacy?! Or manners or something?" Ian mumbled.

  "Oh. Okay. Thank you, Ian." I quickly put my top on before I moved on to getting my pajama pants on. I noticed his ears were red as he shuffled to take his pants off and put on his Batman pants.

  "I WIN!" I announced, putting my hands in the air.

  "That's because I took a break," Ian replied.

  I looked at him and giggled. "You put your shirt on wrong."

  He glanced down at his shirt and noticed the tag sticking out of the neck part. "Aww man. Clothes are so confusing."

  "I'll help you," I offered. I helped him take his hand out of the sleeves, and he turned around once so that the tag was at the back. I was helping him with his left sleeve when the door opened; Dolly, Sam, and Officer O'Neil looked down at us.

  I helped Ian with the other sleeve and we high fived each other. "Teamwork!" we said together. Dolly smiled.

  "Were you two helping each other?" she asked.

  "Ian wore his shirt backward." I giggled.

  "By accident! I was being a man and giving Harper...privacy!"

  "Were you now? That's really good," Sam praised, and Ian stood proudly like he'd won an award. I smiled and looked at the three adults.

  "Do...I get to stay here?" I asked. They exchanged looks, and Ian reached out to hold my hand, both of us waiting for their final decision. Dolly walked up to us and knelt down with a huge smile on her face.

  "I think we're going to have a big dinner to celebrate Harper's new home," she announced.

  "YEAH!" Ian and I cheered, both reaching out to hug Dolly who laughed with tears in her eyes.

  "I have a family!" I exclaimed happily.

  "Yeah! Harper's my friend forever!" Ian added. Dolly laughed again and hugged both of us. I moved out of Dolly’s arms to hug Sam and then Officer O'Neil.

  "Officer O'Neil, does that mean I won't see you again?" I asked with sad eyes.

  He gave me a smile and pressed his forehead against mine. "I'll come to see you whenever you want me to. I'm sometimes really busy, but I'll come by when I can. You can just call me O'Neil, Harper."

  "Yeah!!!" I cheered and hugged him again.

  He lowered me down and I moved back to stand beside Ian. He reached out and grabbed my hand. "Let's go help set the table while Dolly gets started."

  "Okay!" I replied.

  We moved to the door and Ian stopped, turning toward the others and tugging me to stop with him. "Oh. Reika is Harper's imaginary friend's name. She's nice."

  The three of them were silent, but they all nodded.

  Ian smiled and glanced at me. "Let's go, Harper."

  "Okay. Muffin?" I looked at the little cat who was rolling around on the bed. She paused and got up, hopping off the bed to reach my feet.

  "Good girl. Let's get you food too," I suggested.

  "Meow." We moved away to the kitchen and I couldn't be happier. I had a new family that liked me. I wasn't weird, mutt, dog, or bad. I knew what I was now.

  "Wolf Shifter."

  Yes. A Wolf shifter, but if we want to stay here forever with Ian, no one can know. Just between us.

  "Yes. Us."

  A smile formed on my lips, and the first time since my family's passing, I was truly happy.

  Happy to be alive.

  "Dolly, this place is huge." I squeezed her hand as we walked on a gravel path. Yesterday we'd had a big feast, celebrating Reika and me becoming a part of Dolly’s family.

  Dolly and Sam were married but couldn't have kids. I didn't know why, but it was just something they couldn't do. Dolly said that instead, they save wolves that were close to extinction. They have done it for years, but there were six wolves they kept on the property and had a few other places in different areas of the mountains.

  We lived in a town called Moonshine Haven. It was in the remote areas of British Columbia. I never paid attention to where my family and I lived since we were always moving every couple of days.

  To settle down somewhere and not have to move the next day felt nice, though it didn't help me not miss my family. Ian said it would get better with time, and I hoped it did because I really missed Mommy especially. Dolly was so nice and sweet, but it only reminded me of Mommy and how loving she was to me.

  Today, Dolly was going to show me around Scared Moon Shelter for Endangered Wolves. Dolly said she personally liked to call it a sanctuary, but originally Rogan used to run this place long ago. I asked her why he doesn't anymore, and she said it was complicated.

  The wolves were all rare breeds and were hard to tame. He wasn't doing a good job and they would get restless. In the end, she'd been called from another sanctuary in Vancouver with Sam and once they got here, the wolves adapted to them at a much faster pace, making Rogan more of a third person in charge.

  Dolly said since then, many wolves have been shifted through the sanctuary to other places, but there were five that always remained here, and a sixth was added two years ago.

  Reika told me she thinks the sixth wolf was Ian, and I agreed with her, but we didn't comment about it, making sure to keep our secret.

  Ian was taking a nap, both of us having stayed up all night talking and playing before I got a chance to play with Wolfie a little bit. He stayed up to watch me as I finally fell asleep, and when I woke up, he was still awake, guarding me.

  By the time we finished breakfast, which was pancakes with chocolate syrup, Ian was asleep at the table. Sam had to carry him to his bed, and that was why he wasn't here with us.

  We reached a large caged area; the metal was gold and black, and I saw a black wolf with blue eyes first. He stared at me for a long time before he strolled forward towards the gate where we were approaching.

  "Woof?!"

  "Easy Hayden. Our princess here hasn't met y'all yet. Don't go frightening her now," Dolly instructed.

  The wolf named Hayden sat down at Dolly's explanation, its eyes still on me. Dolly stopped at the gate, entering a code into the number pad, and I went to stand before the gate. The black wolf with blue eyes moved to stand in front of me, the gold-black gate the only barrier between us.

  "Good."

  "You're a good wolf?" I asked. Hayden just lowered his head slightly; his eyes never left mine. I smiled and reached out to place my hand on the gate. Hayden moved his head, his nose poked between the space and rubbed the palm of my hand.

  I giggled. "Your nose is wet."

  "Woof!" He sat down again, waiting for us to enter. Dolly finished unlocking the door, but she turned to me.

  "Harper. You stay right there. I'm going to call the other wolves and give them a bit of a chat. They're very intelligent and understand what you say to them. Don't take that for granted. If you say mean things, they'll know. Just as if you say nice things. You hear me?"

  "Yes, Dolly. I'll be nice to them. Hayden is good. Reika says so," I replied.

  Dolly blinked a few times, looking a bit confused but slowly nodded. "Right. Okay, one second."

  I watched her enter, but Hayden stayed in place. I put my hand back on the fence and he put his nose through the space of the fencing to poke me once more, making me giggle again.

  Dolly watched us with a smile before she took out what looked to be a whistle. She blew into it, and the small silver whistle made a weird noise. I froze and stared at Dolly with wide eyes.

  Reika was just as shocked, and it was a bit hard not to move to where Dolly stood. Hayden took a few steps forward but stopped, positioning himself to be in front of me again. He did sit down, and his attention was on Dolly, but he wasn't anywhere close to her.

  In seconds, four other wolves caught my attention as they came into view, and I stared at them. One looked similar to Hayden, but his fur was pure white. Their blue eyes were the same and he immediately moved away from Dolly to come and stand next to Hayden; his blue eyes locked onto me.

  "Hayden, Heston. Come here and stop staring at Harper like she’s a steak!" Dolly called out.

  Hayden and the newcomer, Heston, both looked at each other and then towards me.

  "Woof!" Heston barked, moving his head towards the gate. I did the same thing that I had done with Hayden, putting my hand on the gate and letting him poke his nose against my flesh.

  I giggled at the ticklish sensation, and Heston appeared pleased with getting to touch my hand. They both moved away and back to where Dolly was, joining the other three wolves.

  I shifted a bit closer, which caught all of their attention and intrigued me even more. They were all different, both in fur and eye color, and they stared at me like I was dinner. That’s a little scary.

  Reika didn't mind; she did her own staring, same as me, but I was trying not to be so obvious. The other three wolves looked beautiful with their unique fur coats.

  The first wolf on the far left had dark grey fur with a few white areas and sapphire eyes. The second wolf on the far right had orange fur with gold sections that looked nice against the sunlight. It had bright golden eyes.

  I knew right away the middle wolf must have been the leader. He was almost twice the size as the ones on each side of him, and he had pure white fur that had some parts gold and others a lovely blue that reminded me of my eyes.